Free, Long-Awaited Shovel Knight Expansion Arrives Next Week

The first DLC expansion for Shovel Knight is just a week away from launch, developer Yacht Club Games has announced.

Plague of Shadows, the name of the free update, is due out on September 17 for all platforms. It introduces the new Challenge mode and a new playable character, Plague Knight.

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The expansion has been in the works for some time; it's coming for free as one of the stretch goals met by Shovel Knight's Kickstarter campaign. Plague Knight is the first of several boss characters who are being turned into playable characters.

As we've heard about previously, Plague Knight pretty dramatically changes the way the game is played. In addition to new objectives, enemies, areas, paths, feats, and bosses, the story has been modified, and Plague Knight himself uses explosions and bomb jumps as a means for getting around.

In order to play as Plague Knight, you'll need to have first completed the base game as Shovel Knight. If you've switched platforms or, for whatever reason, simply want to jump straight into playing as him, Yacht Club says it'll share a code that unlocks Plague Knight right away.

Shovel Knight originally launched last year on Wii U, 3DS, and PC before also making its way to PS3, PS4, Vita, and Xbox One. Some of these versions have their own exclusive content, including God of War's Kratos appearing on PlayStation platforms, the Battletoads on Xbox One, and new modes on the way to Nintendo platforms if you pick up the Shovel Knight Amiibo.